Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a generally good review, describing it as "good entertainment, very ably directed and admirably acted by two of its three international stars". Greene deigns to praise the starring acting of Constance Bennett, however he attributes the lack of acting to the complexities involved in avoiding the British Board of Film Censors. Comparing the novel upon which the film is based and the film itself, Greene notes the superiority of the novel over the film which lacked a psychological element, and concludes that "the book was not sentimental: the film is".[2]